No offesne meant to the region’s cheese; I only mentioned New Jersey specifically because that’s where I’ll be going with this stuff. The “crap” is not meant to be location-specific.
But there’s probably a good joke about “New Jersey cheese” being some kind of chemical waste. 
Duckster Thanks for the posting. I figure the people that want facts on something that simple to look up can do it themselves.
I wouldn’t bring them chedar either! There’s way to many specialty cheeses to lug cheddar across the USA. It’s not like you can’t get cheese from other states, but you won’t find a Bucky Badger shaped cheese in another state.
If you make it out to Mineral Point, can I suggest the Johnston Gallery? They have beautiful, affordable pottery pieces that are actually functional. I’m always tempted to buy my mother something like this, but I know she’d just put it away and never use it. sigh
I don’t suppose pasties would travel well.
You could see if you could purchase an Ellis Nelson crane in Muscoda. They’re incredibly beautiful for being made out of sheet metal.
Cheddar is common enough, but a decently aged cheddar is hard to find! Here in Wisconsin I can reliably lay my hands on cheddars that are 6, 7, even 8 years old, pretty easily. Not so easy elsewhere. What they say is “aged” in most stores is unlikely to be much over 2 years old, just a baby in my estimation.
QtM, who has a pound of cheddar that is pushing 11 waiting for a special occasion to get et.
Ooh! Pasties! Good idea!
I tend to think of them as items from Michigan’s UP, even though I know they were quite popular around the lead mines of Potosi and Platteville.
I like mine filled with beef, onions, carrots, potatos, and rutabagas!
prepares his Mission Impossible toolkit and practices his breaking and entering skills…
Best watch it, jayjay. This in an heirloom that has been kept and treasured when all other heirlooms were lost!
Well, I have to consider that you DO have an inside track to Wisconsin’s penal system, so I should probably reconsider the caper. Eleven-year-old cheddar, though…teeeeeeempting…
Oh, I didn’t take offense at all, and sorry if it came across that way. I was just trying to put a definition on what “ordinary supermarket cheese” is here in Jersey.
We’re not a big dairy state, but are fortunate to be very close to some great dairy regions like upstate NY/Vermont and central PA.
And “New Jersey Cheese” may be made of toxic waste, asphalt, and crooked politicians, but it tastes delightful on a Portuguese roll with some fresh Jersey tomatoes. Yum!
You could always just send lots of Wisconsin Dell’s (if you have the bucks and they don’t mind crappy computers.).
A Trek bicycle? Ok, probably over your spending limit.
Brian
I’ll 2nd and 3rd the Kringle. Definitely bring back some Racine Kringles (pecan & cherry), I think they have them at Woodman’s. My brother-in-laws brother delivers them in Waukesha county, and always brings them to family functions. He’s very popular.
Prairie Fume/Wollersheim may not be from west coast, but it is a good wine. I give it to my Aunt every xmas. $7.50 at Woodman’s. There are also cranberry flavored wines, never had one though.
I’ve seen it in Milw, a t-shirt that read “Where’s the bubbler?”. Well, I think it’s cute. If you get to Milw, the downtown mall has a nice store with just Wis/Milw stuff.
For the music lover: “Live from Studio M”, from WMMM a cd of all the musicians that stopped in and did 30 minute concerts for them. Or other local cd’s. A WORT-FM t-shirt.
An ornament, Wis flavored. University bookstore is good, or anywhere else on State. Orange Tree Imports on Monroe supposedly has good ones too.
Clasens in Middleton has good German bakery stuff, Krumbkaes, stollens, etc…but the Racine Kringles are where it’s at. But if you have to get on a plane, they’ll get all mangled up…but they may fit perfectly in a shirt box.
I thnk there’s a farmers market still going on in Madison on saturdays. I think it’s at the FLWright Convention Center, and at the very least you can get your cheeses there. Probably some good cranberry or Door county cherry jams.
Clasens is the bakery I wanted to post, but I didn’t know the name. I’d say what wine to try, but it always sells out in a couple months, so I won’t tell the world.
Oh c’mon. It sells out anyway, might as well sell it out to Dopers.
Sprecher’s Root Beer and Cream Soda is top notch.
Not that anyone wants it, but Miller is also based in Milwaukee. Leinkugels is out of Chippewa Falls, and apparently has some nice seasonal brews (berry weiss, honey weiss, or the berry honey weiss) for a macro-brewer. I’m not a beer drinker, so take that for what you will.
My parents always got maple syrup from WI as a gift from work and such. Not that you’d think of Wisconsin as a maple syrup powerhouse, but some is produced there.
Elmwood, WI is the UFO capital of the U.S., from what they say, anyway.
Qadgop, I’m looking for some really aged cheddars (10+ year) - can you recommend any creameries? Do they do mail order? Do they have any cave aged (I know about Carr’s)? Many thanks in advance.
I don’t know about 10+ year cheddar, but the Cedarburg Cheesary , which is my local cheese shop of choice, reliably has 9 year cheddar. I think that cheddar peaks at 7 years, but that’s just my opinion.
If anybody in your family is into folktales or ghost stories, Dennis Boyer has some nice books on those. They’re told more in a “these are some traditional stories” way than a “OMG ghosts are real!!!” way. He also has some other books on great Wisconsins bars and taverns, and edited a compilation of essays by Wisconsin writers on the Wisconsin landscape, which actually varies quite a bit throughout the state.
Qadgop, as the umptygreat-granddaugther of Cornish miners who settled in the Mineral Point area in the 1830s, I will assure you that the pasty is alive and well in SW Wisconsin. My high school music department even holds a pasty sale each fall to raise funds. I think my family eats it at least twice a month. The abomination that is hobo pasty does not count. Blech.
Anway, if you enjoy cheese, then I suggest you try making a pasty filled with potatoes, onions, cheddar, and some fresh green herbs. It’s fantastic. And sounds like your version is missing the devil. I hear he adds a little pep.
Wisconsin Death Trip or Roadside Geology of Wisconsin
Ephraim faience pottery
I second (fifth? sixth?) the Racine kringle suggestion - but from Larsen’s
If you’re going to bring cheese curds, buy them at the dairy the same day you leave, if possible. The best curds come in a bag with whey sloshing around at the bottom. They lose their squeak as they dry out; don’t bother with supermarket curds.
Not a gift suggestion, but I heartily recommend New Seoul Korean restaurant in Madison!
Some Wisconsin cheese that aren’t cheddar and are available at Babcock Hall.
Havarti (comes in original, pesto, and dill), smoked aged cheddar (not 11 years, but usually close to 2), Juustoleipa which is an uncultured, baked cheese from Finland that is similar in flavor and texture to fresh curd with toasty flavors and doesn’t lose its squeek, it comes in regular and Jalepeno. Brick is a Wisconsin cheese, but I don’t think it is the world’s most impressive cheese. Dutch Kase and Romano are both great cheeses that have stronger flavors. The Monterey Jack with Chives is really good, too, I had some for lunch.
If you are taking gifts to chefs and bakers, hit Penzey’s on University, near Atlanta Bread Co. and get spices that you have always heard of, but somehow doubted that they really existed.
Both places will do pre-assembled or do-it-yourself gift boxes. I always give one or both as gifts.
Really? I’m rather a cheddar newbie, but there’s a restaurant in these parts that sells aged white cheddar. I thought I recalled that the type they sold was aged for 10 years, but I don’t know where I got that bit of information (it’s not on the menu), so it’s possible I’m wrong on that account. I shall give younger, but still outstanding, cheddars a try as well.
Thanks!
